Surface sensor

ABSTRACT

The application relates to a fingerprint sensor assembly for detection of properties or structure of a finger at chosen positions. The fingerprint sensor assembly includes a plurality of sensor electrodes, a processing unit, a dielectric substrate, and a plurality of conductive paths. The dielectric substrate is between the plurality of sensor electrodes and the processing unit. The first plurality of conductive paths is associated with the plurality of sensor electrodes, where each of the plurality of conductive paths includes at least a portion extending through the dielectric substrate and provides an electrical connection between one of the plurality of sensor electrodes and the processing unit. The processing unit is configured to detect a signal at each of the plurality of sensor electrodes. The plurality of sensor electrodes is embedded in the dielectric substrate.

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 of the filingdate of, and is a continuation of, non-provisional U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/608,598, filed Jan. 29, 2015, which is acontinuation of non-provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/519,679 filed Sep. 19, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,122,901, which is aNational Stage Entry of PCT/EP2010/070787, filed Dec. 28, 2010, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/290,630 filed Dec. 29, 2009 and Norwegian Patent Application No.20093601 filed Dec. 29, 2009, the respective disclosure(s) of which is(are) incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to a sensor for detection of structuresand properties of organic tissue or its surface, especially afingerprint sensor, comprising a chosen number of sensor electrodes atchosen positions for electrical and mechanical coupling to a fingersurface and its tissue, having a size comparable to the size of thestructures, characteristics, or properties of the finger tissue orsurface.

BACKGROUND

In the recent years, biometrics, and especially fingerprint sensors,have become common for the purpose of verifying the identity of aperson, e.g., at immigration control, at airports as well as withpersonal devices such as laptops etc. The present solutions still have anumber of disadvantages. Fingerprint sensors used in airports andimmigration control are large and too expensive for many applications,smaller sensors seen in portable devices are often silicon basedsolutions with limited robustness and challenging electronicinterconnections. Traditional silicon production techniques for suchsensors often result in solutions for electrical interconnectionfeatures interfering with the physical finger interface of the device.Recessed mounting of the sensor in a consumer application is oftenimplemented to improve these shortcomings, but may not be the optimalsolution both with respect to esthetical design and protection from dirtand moisture. Sensor size, both volume and area, along with the rigidproperties of silicon, significantly limits the feasibility ofintegrating fingerprint devices in thin and flexible applications suchas smartcards.

A fingerprint sensor which may be flush mounted in the same plane as thesurface of the product it is mounted into is described in U.S. Pat. No.7,251,351, in which a set of first electrodes/sensor elements arepositioned on one side of an insulating substrate provided withthrough-substrate-via conductors. The substrate may be made from glass,ceramics or other insulating materials. In WO 03/049012 a substrate madefrom a multilayered or laminate PCB process is described being based ona subtractive PCB process in which, as with the abovementioned USpatent, is based on the removal of materials, e.g., by etching, whichhas relatively low resolution and thus not sufficiently good for thesmall dimensions and tolerances of fingerprint sensors. If thedimensions such as the layer thickness are not sufficiently accuratethey may affect the measurements and reduce the accuracy of the sensorunit.

Thus it is an object of the present invention to offer a thin, flexiblefingerprint sensor realized by well established, high volume, low costmanufacturing processes, while also allowing the sensor surface to bepositioned flush with the surface of the device in which it is mounted.This is accomplished with a fingerprint sensor as stated above beingcharacterized as described in the independent claims.

SUMMARY

The fingerprint sensor is thus manufactured using additive orsemi-additive build-up processes to deposit dielectrics and conductorsin layers to form a substrate with through going conductive paths,having embedded sensor electrodes for coupling to the finger surface onone side and with the processing unit well protected on the oppositeside. The substrate may be manufactured using liquid or dry filmdielectrics alternated with layers of conductive materials depositedthrough sputter, spray or other plating technology. Starting with adielectric layer deposited on a mandrel, for instance glass, the firstdielectric layer is ensured a high degree of flatness. Subsequent layersof conductive material and dielectrics are added using photo lithographyand corresponding mask sets to define required section features.Building the layers from the finger interface side of the sensor to therear processing unit interface side while still attached to the mandrelensures dimensional stability of the substrate will minimizing featureand alignment tolerances. The finished substrate may be post-processedwhile still attached to the mandrel, or peeled off to reveal the firstdeposited layer. In the preferred embodiment of the invention a liquidpolymer such as polyimide is used on a flat glass surface thus obtainingan improved accuracy in the dimensions of the sensor unit, especiallythe thickness and thus the contribution of the substrate structure onthe provided measurements.

An alternative to the above mentioned process is to reverse the layerprocessing sequence. Instead of first depositing the top fingerinterface layer onto a glass plate, one or multiple layers are depositedonto a PCB type core. The core may be pre fabricated with a rear sideprocessing unit interface and internal layers for signal redistributionand shielding. The front side of the PCB type core may then be postprocessed using the build-up processes described above to produce thesmall, high tolerance, features required for the fingerprint sensordesign. The last layer to be deposited will in this process constitutethe finger interface. This processing alternative is often utilized tomanufacture IC substrates or Flip Chip substrates, and is often referredto as Micro PCB. An alternative process is where a dry film replaces theliquid polyimide material with metal covered films such as Kapton® wherethe conductive sections are processed using lithography and variousetching, laser, and via filling techniques thus providing the conductorleads or paths as discussed in the abovementioned publications. Multiplelayers are achieved by laminating such individual sheets together. Acombination of dry and wet processes, with or without a core is alsopossible.

In the following descriptions, the term “detection of voltage orcurrent” will be understood by a person skilled in the art as a methodfor detection and collection of information about the relatedcapacitance, impedance, electromagnetic field, fingerprint or otherbiometric, physical, physiological, thermal or optical orcharacteristics or properties of the tissue or its surface positionedover the electrodes of the sensor. Also, the term coupling is understoodas including both direct electrical contact between two parts as well ascapacitive or inductive coupling of two parts separated physically by adielectric material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the cross section of a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a linear fingerprint sensor layout as seen fromabove.

FIG. 3 illustrates the cross section of a second embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the cross section of a third embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 illustrates the cross section of a forth embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 6 illustrates the cross section of a fifth embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 illustrates the cross section of a sixth embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 8 illustrates the cross section and layout of a seventh embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates the cross section and layout of an eighth embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates the cross section and layout of a ninth embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates the cross section and layout of a tenth embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates the cross section and layout of an eleventhembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13a,b illustrates a fingerprint sensor according to the inventionpositioned on an additional substrate for mounting in a credit card.

FIG. 14 illustrates a fingerprint sensor mounted in a smart card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the cross section of the preferred embodiment of thefingerprint sensor 21 according to the invention. Primarily the sensorunit is constituted by a flexible unit 40 including a dielectric,possibly organic, substrate 8 with embedded conductive sections 1,2,3,4.First electrodes 1 are connected to first conductive paths 4, created bysequentially depositing layers of conductive and dielectric materialsforming unbroken conductive paths of conductive sections from the firstelectrodes, through the substrate 8 and redistributed to coupling points31 for connecting to the processing unit interfaces 7 on the reverseside. This is provided in a layered structure from the contact surface 9being touched by the finger 10, the layered structure being constitutedby a first dielectric layer 39 covering the first electrodes 1 (alsocalled sensor elements in the mentioned patent publications) and other(second and third) electrodes 2,3 in a second layer being separated by adielectric material 8, and a third layer comprising the conductor leads4,5,6 to the coupling points 31. This structure is preferably built in abuild-up process as mentioned above and may include several additionalsteps for introducing additional layers, e.g., if the required positionsof the coupling points to the processing unit is different from thepositions of the electrodes.

The finger interface, coupling area, of the first electrodes 1 arechosen so that they are smaller than structures in a typical fingersurface 10, enabling the capability to distinguishing between valleysand ridges in the surface which typically have a pitch of approximately150-600 μm. A typical area of the first electrodes may therefore beapproximately 2000-20000 μm², electrically insulated from adjacentelectrodes by the substrate dielectric in a thickness of 1-30 μm. Otherversions may be contemplated varying electrode size, shape and pitch. Ina realized embodiment the electrode pitch is 67.5 μm, in a rectangularshape with an area of 6500 μm². The conductive paths 4 may vary greatlyin size and shape depending on routing and/or process constraints aswell as signal integrity requirements. Current manufacturingcapabilities are at below 1 μm for both trace widths and thicknesses(L/S), and layer to layer interconnecting conductive paths with crosssectional areas of 10-2000 μm². A current embodiment is realized withL/S of 15/15 μm and layer to layer interconnects of 700 μm²

The preferred embodiment of the invention involves galvanic isolationbetween the finger surface and the sensor electrodes and thus the sensorelectrodes are embedded in the substrate below the finger interfacesurface, the substrate dielectric 8 providing the required dielectricmedium between the finger surface and first electrodes. Preferably asurface coating layer 9 is added for improved mechanical and chemicalprotection, controlled friction, improved image quality, enhancedcosmetics or other purposes. The performance coating may be made from acarbon based materials such as Diamond Like carbon (DLC) or amorphousdiamond, as described in EP0779497 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,679. Thethickness of the substrate dielectric and performance coating layers maybe chosen to provide suitable detection conditions, for example in therange of 500 nm or more. Exposed electrodes without dielectricsproviding direct electrical contact with the finger may be implementedfor improved detection conditions, like increased signal levels.

On the opposite side of the finger interface surface, the fingerprintsensor substrate is in a per se known way provided with electricalsignal interfaces 7 for connecting the signal processing unit 13 to theconductive paths. These interfaces may be manufactured using well knowntechnology for under-bump metallization (UBM) and provide a base forsolder or glue based interconnection solutions to the processing unit.Similarly external IO connections 15 are provided.

According to the preferred embodiment the substrate is also providedwith a second electrode 2 connected to a second conductive path 5implemented in a similar manner as the first electrode 1 and firstconductive path 4 but having larger electrode dimensions so as to besignificantly larger than the features in the finger surface. Thus thecoupling between the second electrode and the finger is notsignificantly affected by the structures in the surface of the finger.In this case the processing unit 13 is adapted to detect the voltage ator the current flow in each of a multitude of first electrodes 1provided by the first and second electrodes 1, 2 as the processing unit13 also applies a static or varying voltage between the first and secondelectrodes 1,2 and detects the voltage and current in a per se knownway, e.g., by applying a voltage between the second electrode 2 andground and by detecting the current flow from the finger into the firstelectrode 1, or voltage relative to ground at the first electrode 1. Dueto the differences in size only the structures of the finger close tothe first electrodes will affect the voltage or current sensed ordetected by the sensor 21. In this embodiment of the invention it isalso possible to vary the embedded depth of the electrodes, hencechanging the dielectric thickness and coupling characteristics in orderto optimize the detection conditions, like sensitivity, contrast,dynamic signal range or other parameters for the sensor electrodes 1, 2and 3 and/or the remainder of the substrate 8.

According to the preferred embodiment the substrate 8 is also providedwith a third electrode 3 connected to a third conductive path 6implemented in a similar manner as the first electrode 1 and firstconductive path 4. The third electrode 3 may vary in size from smallerthan, to significantly larger than the surface feature size of thefinger. The third electrode may replicate the functionality of the firstor second electrodes or be independently electrically exited, modulated,electrically left floating, or connected to ground as discussed in U.S.Pat. No. 7,606,398. The third electrode may also be implemented in sucha way that a capacitive coupling to individual 1^(st) electrodes may beutilized in a calibration or circuit test routine as described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,251,351B2. Other alternatives may also be contemplated, e.g.,with a third conductor (not shown) close to the first conductorleads/conductive sections and with a comparable size such as thesolution described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,381. The fingerprint sensor 21is designed as a swipe sensor where the surface to be measured isexpected to traverse the electrodes in the swipe direction 11.

FIG. 2 illustrates the layout of a stripe shaped fingerprint sensor 21constituted by an essentially linear array 12 of sensor electrodes 1wherein each first electrode 1 is related to one first conductive path4. Spanning the sensor array 12 are two stimulation or drive electrodes2, related to before mentioned second conductive paths 5, thus ensuringa uniform voltage distribution across the finger, and the variation inthe detected signal from the sensor array 12 being mainly caused byvariations in the structure of the finger in close vicinity to thearray.

In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 2 the layout also includes two thirdelectrodes 3, in this instance used for a (digital and analog) groundconnection, thus also providing ESD protection. These electrodes mayalso be related to before mentioned third conductive paths 6 through thesubstrate 8. The embedded depth of these electrodes may be variedsimilarly to the first and second electrodes 1, 2 to increase theprobability of ESD events to discharge to ground. Other solutions forproviding ESD protection may be realized by implementation of diodestructures connected to the conductive paths of the substrate.Alternatively a discrete component such as an ESD protection diode maybe connected between the drive electrode and ground, internally embeddedin the substrate or externally connected for instance by flip-chipassembly.

According to an alternative embodiment of the sensor layout illustratedin FIG. 2 the sensor array may be constituted by one or multiple lineararrays of electrodes, possibly shifted across the swipe directionproviding a staggered structure and improving the resolution in themeasurements. Multiple sensor arrays may also allow for reconstructing afingerprint image by stitching as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,114or for measuring the movement of the finger over the sensor as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 7,054,471.

According to an alternative embodiment the second 2, third 3, or bothelectrodes may be provided with interfaces to external IO connections 15shown in FIG. 1 for implementation outside the substrate, with theadvantage of reducing the substrate material area as discussed in U.S.Pat. No. 6,628,812 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,971.

Additional electrodes and circuitry may be embedded in the sensor 21,for example for measuring the relative movement of the finger across thesurface, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,251,351 and U.S. Pat. No.7,110,577, or for navigation or driving a pointer on a screen, asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,129,926 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,308,121 or formeasuring other biometric properties of the finger, like alivenessdetection.

According to an alternative embodiment in FIG. 3 an additional internallayer of conductive sections 14 is included for shielding purposes. Theshield layer is positioned between the electrodes and any conductivesections used for lateral signal redistribution to the processing unitinterfaces. Connecting all or sections of this shield layer to groundwill protect the processing unit interfaces and signal redistributionsections from electromagnetic interference or inductive or capacitiveelectrical coupling from the electrodes and finger surface, and viceversa.

According to an alternative embodiment in FIG. 4, one or more additionalinternal layers 16 of conductive sections may be included to facilitatevarious embedded features.

An additional layer may be included to facilitate improved signalredistribution with additional degrees of freedom to route conductivepaths 17.

One or more additional internal layers of conductive sections may beincluded to facilitate various embedded components 18. A discretecomponent may be placed on the last deposited layer, connectionterminal(s) up, fixed with glue or by other means before the nextdielectric layer is deposited. The subsequent conductive section layerdeposition is prepared with a mask including openings at the requiredconnection positions of the discrete component. The conductive materialdeposition process will fuse to the appropriate discrete componentterminals and connect to the appropriate conductive paths.

The alternative embodiment in FIG. 4 also illustrates how organic orprintable electronic circuits 19 may be implemented. The patternabledielectric layer 16 may be used as a base medium for such a depositionprocess. These special circuits are connected to underlying conductivesections directly through their deposition processes, or by fusing tothe subsequent conductive layers by its deposition processes.

Utilizing the patternable dielectric to create an intentional void, agas filled volume between two conductive sections, may be used as aspark gap 20 to provide a high voltage discharge path, and to dissipateelectrical charge to ground. ESD protection may hence be improved whenincorporated into the conductive paths between electrodes and theprocessing unit.

The alternative embodiment in FIG. 5 is a special case of previouslydescribed embedded discrete components 18 of FIG. 4. In this embodimentthe whole processing unit 13 is embedded in the dielectric, as opposedto flip chip mounted as depicted in FIG. 1.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 6, a curable polymer resin 22, forexample epoxy, is used to improve mechanical robustness of the sensor.The underfill resin is used to encapsulate electrical interfaces and theprocessing unit, hence protecting them from the elements such asmoisture and dirt, while also adding stiffness to the sensor. A sheetwith multiple sensors can be underfilled and coated before cutting intoindividual sensors. The finished product is a fingerprint device,encapsulated and packaged with a BGA type ball interface 15. A similarresult may be achieved using plastic molding processes as opposed tocurable resins.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 7, an additional second dielectricmaterial 23 is laminated onto the build-up substrate to improvestiffness and mechanical robustness of the sensor. This material may bea layer of liquid or dry film soldermask where conductive sections (orleads) 35 are formed with the same process used to form the conductivesections of the build-up substrate. Alternatively the stiffening layermay be of a printed circuit board type material with preformed via's,interfaced and electrically connected to the build-up substrateconductive sections.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 8, a flexible ribbon cable 24 isintegrated in the build-up substrate for external IO connections. Thismay simplify integration into various applications with the option toincrease the distance between the finger interface and host systemelectronics. The ribbon cable may for instance be threaded through aslot in the application enclosure.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 9, a separate flexible ribboncable 25 is connected to the external IO connection interface of thebuild-up substrate yielding advantages similar to what is described forthe embodiment in FIG. 8.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 10 the high resolution build-upsubstrate 8 is laminated or otherwise fixed with electrical connectionsto a standard PCB or flexible printed circuit 26 constituting aninterposer between the build-up sensor substrate and the signalprocessing unit 13. This may provide advantages in fixturing,interconnecting, and assembling while utilizing a lower cost materialfor circuitry requiring a larger area. The signal processing unit andexternal IO connections 27 may be located on either side of theinterposer.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 11 the high resolution build-upsubstrate 8 is laminated or otherwise fixed with electrical connectionsto a standard PCB or flexible printed circuit 28 constituting amotherboard for an embedded fingerprint module. Combining the highresolution build-up substrate with low cost standard circuit boardtechnology additional electronic circuitry such as integrated circuits,displays, LED's, buttons 29, and external electrical interfaces 30 canbe integrated into the fingerprint module. The additional electroniccircuitry may be located on either side of the motherboard.

In the alternative embodiment in FIG. 12 the high resolution build-upsubstrate 8 is utilized not only as a sensor substrate, but is alsoimplemented as a carrier and interconnect device for a full biometricsystem. 1^(st), 2^(nd) and 3^(rd) electrode signals are redistributed(not shown) to the signal processing unit 13 located either directlybelow the finger interface or shifted in any lateral direction.Additional integrated circuits such as micro controllers 32 and otherelectrical components 33 such as capacitors, resistors, buttons,displays and antennas may be integrated either by Flip Chip, wirebonding, conductive glue or other. External IO connections 15 may beintegrated as exposed conductive pads, headers, and connectors or other.The finger interface section may be supported mechanically by alaminated stiffener plate 34 of suitable thickness and material. Thecomplete biometric assembly may be mounted inside a suitable enclosure,or molded, alternatively laminated, inside for example an id orfinancial transaction card.

In FIGS. 13a and 13b the flexible unit 40 with the fingerprint sensor 21is mounted on a second dielectric material 23 as in FIG. 7. This seconddielectric material 23 constitutes a circuit board including a bondinginterface 41 to connect with the coupling points 31 on the back side ofthe fingerprint sensor 21 as well as conductor leads 35 through thesecond dielectric material to a solder surface 42 on the opposite sideon which processors 13 may be placed, thus being connected to thefingerprint sensor 21. This solution is especially suitable for mountingin smart cards having an opening or recess adapted to receive thefingerprint sensor unit. The sensor unit may then be fastened in therecess or hole using lamination processes or adhesives and sealed toconstitute an integral part of the smart card.

Smart cards are often made in a layered structure having at least threelayers where a middle layer includes conductor leads making it possibleto connect to other circuitry in the card. An example showing this typeof connection is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,605. As the fingerprintsensor is to be positioned in a recess or hole in the card contactpoints 43 in a position suitable for connecting to the conductive cardlayer are provided at a suitable position matching the thickness of theouter layers covering the electrical conductors in the card.

FIG. 14 illustrates the fingerprint sensor 21 positioned in a smart card47 also comprising electrical conductors 44 as well as a microchip 45and an antenna 46, e.g., for RFID or near field communication. Asmentioned above these conductors 44 are embedded in an intermediatelayer inside the smart card while the connector interface of themicrochip 45 and fingerprint sensor 21 extend to the card surface.

Thus the invention refers especially to the realization of fingerprintsensors with sensor electrodes and associated conductive paths embeddedin a dielectric substrate.

To summarize the invention relates to a sensor unit for measuringstructures and properties by the surface of an object of organic tissue,especially a fingerprint sensor. The sensor unit comprising a contactsurface adapted to have mechanical contact with said object, a firstdielectric layer having a chosen thickness, a second layer including anumber of electrically conductive first electrodes 1 havingpredetermined sizes and positions, the sensor elements being separatedby a dielectric material, a third layer including a number of conductivesections, each having a first end galvanically coupled to firstelectrodes and a second end at the opposite side of the third layerhaving predetermined positions, the conductive sections being separatedby a dielectric material, and electrically conductive connecting meansat said predetermined positions of said second ends of the conductivesections for galvanic connection to a signal processing unit. This way asubstrate is provided for mounting of the processor unit where thesubstrate contains both the first electrodes in the predeterminedpattern, and possibly additional electrodes, in a polymer material. Thedielectric material preferably being polyimide and the sensor beingbuilt using a build-up process where the first layer is deposited as aliquid on a plane glass surface.

Thus the invention primarily relates to a sensor for detection ofproperties and structures of an organic tissue and its surface,especially a fingerprint sensor, the sensor surface being part of aflexible unit suitable to be included in credit card etc. Theflexibility may thus preferably be according to the ISO standard forcredit cards ISO-IEC 7810. The physical characteristics being testedwith test procedures from ISO-IEC 10373-1 identification cards--Testmethods. For other purposes the flexibility of the substrate layerswithout processors and other components may be larger, e.g., with a bendradius down to 1 mm. It comprises a chosen number of first electrodes orsensor elements at chosen positions for coupling to a surface to bemeasured. The size of the first electrodes and preferably the distancesbetween them should be less or comparable to the size of the propertiesor structures in the tissue or its surface so as to be able todistinguish between different types of features such as ridges andvalleys in a fingerprint. A processing unit may be included havingelectronic circuitry for detection of voltage at, or the current flow,in the electrodes, thereby providing for detection and collection ofinformation of related capacitance, impedance, electromagnetic field,fingerprint, structure, tissue aliveness or other biometric, physical,physiological, thermal or optical characteristics or properties of thetissue or its surface. This circuitry is connected to said firstelectrodes for providing detection of said characteristics, propertiesor structures, the processing unit being mounted on one side of asubstrate, and the first electrodes being positioned on internallyembedded layers of said substrate. The substrate thus includes throughgoing first conductive paths between said sensor electrode and saidmeasurement circuitry, wherein the substrate is made from a flexiblesingle or multi layer dielectric polymer material such as polyimide andsaid first conductive paths are constituted by through going substratesections of a chosen size and material.

The substrate preferably is made from flexible materials and alsoincludes at least one second electrode with a size substantially largerthan the structures of the surface to be measured. The second electrodemay be grounded or connected to said processing unit, with a secondconductive path also being constituted by thru going conductive sectionsof the substrate, and the processing unit is adapted to detect thevoltage or current at the first and second electrodes. In the preferredembodiment of the invention a varying voltage may be applied by theprocessing unit or an external oscillator between the second electrodeand the first electrodes, the processing unit measuring or calculatingthe impedance between the first electrodes and the second electrode.

The substrate may also includes at least one third electrode, providingan electrode being coupled to said surface and connected to saidprocessing unit, with a third conductive path also being constituted bythru going conductive leads of the substrate. The third electrode may begrounded or the processing unit may be adapted to detect the voltage orcurrent at the third electrode.

The first, second and third electrodes may be embedded in the same planeor at varying depth, relative to the surface to be measured orcompletely exposed to the said surface, yielding individual dielectriccoupling characteristics for said surface structure measurements. Thusthe first layer may include areas with reduced thickness or openingsover at least some of the electrodes thus also providing means foradjusting the capacitance between the finger and electrode or providinggalvanic contact between the electrodes and the finger/object to bemeasured.

For protecting the sensor unit surface an outer protective layer madefrom a carbon based material, e.g., amorphous diamond, covering themeasurement surface interface of the surface sensor.

The substrate may also include at least one external interface to anexternal electrode outside the substrate being substantially larger thanthe structures of the surface, providing an external electrode beingcoupled to said surface to be measured, and connected to said processingunit.

The third layer of the sensor unit may also include at least oneembedded patternable sub-layer for signal redistribution purposes ofsaid first, second or third conductive paths at predetermined positionsof connection point for coupling to the processing unit. The sub-layermay also include embedded active and passive electronic devices, whereat least one electronic devise is implemented between at least twoconductive sections of said first, second or third conductive paths.

The processing unit with measurement circuitry connected to at least twoconductive sections of said first, second or third conductive paths, mayalso be embedded into the substrate structure.

The substrate may also include at least one embedded organic electronicslayer where at least one electronic device is implemented between atleast two conductive sections of said first, second or third conductivepaths, and or at least one embedded patternable dielectric layer whereat lease one void is created to form a spark gap between at least twoconductive sections of said first, second or third conductive paths.

As mentioned above referring to FIGS. 10-12 the coupling means providedfor coupling to a signal processing unit may be connected to conductorson a flexible foil, PCB or printed circuit, where the conductors providea connection between the coupling means and a corresponding interface ona signal processing unit positioned in a position laterally separatedfrom the coupling means. This way the processing unit may be positionedin a different position than the sensor surface, either on the same sideof the foil, PCB or printed circuit or on the opposite side. The printedcircuit or PCB may also comprise other circuitry or interfaces toexternal equipment.

The sensor unit according to the invention is preferably produced usinga method including the steps of: depositing liquid polyimide on a planeglass surface and hardening the polyimide material, depositing a secondlayer on said first layer by applying a pattern of electricallyconductive material constituting first electrodes on the first layer anddepositing a liquid polyimide layer thus providing an insulation betweenthe first electrodes and hardening the polyimide material, and,depositing the third layer by applying a pattern of electricallyconductive material and depositing a liquid polyimide layer thusproviding an insulation between the first electrodes and hardening thepolyimide material, and after curing the unit removing it from the glassplate thus producing a layered flexible film or foil. This sequence maybe performed in the opposite order thus leaving the glass plate on theopposite side of the foil, depending on the required accuracy of theprocess and positioning of the sensor electrodes.

The method may also include a step of applying an electricallyconductive material on the second ends of the conductive sections forproviding connecting means.

The surface of the sensor may be treated in several ways depending onthe use and operating conditions. For example the substrate may bealtered for optical properties by patterning and imaging polyimidestructure for appearance, reflection etc, or for obtaining surfacecharacteristics such as hydrophobicity, friction, resistance to wearetc.

The substrate may also be altered to accommodate an embedded processingunit, or coated with a hardened curing resin on the processing unit sideto form an encapsulated device with a ball grid array type external IOinterface. In order to make it more durable it may also be laminatedonto another surface for added rigidity and interconnection purposessuch as a printed circuit board.

For improving the coupling characteristics or, in case the surface to bemeasured is curved, the substrate may be lamination onto a curvedsurface, e.g., so as to obtain a solution similar to the swipe sensordescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,785,407.

An advantage with the present invention is that a flexible substrate maybe obtained which may function as a part of a flexible ribbon cable forinterconnection purposes, or be laminated onto a flexible flat cable forinterconnection purposes. It may also laminated or otherwiseelectrically connected to a PCB or flexible circuit, constituting aninterposer between said substrate and said processing unit foradditional degrees of freedom in layout of assembly and interconnectionsor a motherboard for an embedded fingerprint module, providing aninterface between said sensor substrate and processing unit, whileallowing for additional electronic circuitry and components to beintegrated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fingerprint sensor assembly comprising: aplurality of sensor electrodes; a processing unit; a dielectricsubstrate between the plurality of sensor electrodes and the processingunit; and a plurality of conductive paths associated with the pluralityof sensor electrodes, each of the plurality of conductive pathsincluding at least a portion extending through the dielectric substrateand providing an electrical connection between one of the plurality ofsensor electrodes and the processing unit, wherein the processing unitis configured to detect a signal at each of the plurality of sensorelectrodes, and wherein the plurality of sensor electrodes is embeddedin the dielectric substrate.
 2. The fingerprint sensor assembly of claim1, further comprising: a plurality of electrically conductive componentsconnected to the plurality of conductive paths, wherein the plurality ofconductive paths are located between the plurality of sensor electrodesand the plurality of electrically conductive components, and whereineach of at least a subset of the plurality of electrically conductivecomponents is offset, in a direction perpendicular to the conductivepaths, from a center of a sensor electrode electrically connected to theelectrically conductive component.
 3. The fingerprint sensor assembly ofclaim 2, further comprising an additional dielectric substrate locateddirectly on top of the dielectric substrate.
 4. The fingerprint sensorassembly of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of conductive pathsis less wide than a sensor electrode to which the conductive path iselectrically connected.
 5. The fingerprint sensor assembly of claim 4,further comprising a shield layer embedded in the dielectric layer andpositioned between the sensor electrodes and the electrically conductivecomponents, wherein the shield layer is electrically connected to groundpotential and is adapted to protect the electrically conductivecomponents against inductive or capacitive coupling with the sensorelectrodes.
 6. The fingerprint sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein thesensor electrodes are embedded below a first surface of the dielectricsubstrate, and wherein the processing unit is located below a secondsurface of the dielectric substrate, the second surface being oppositethe first surface.
 7. A fingerprint sensor assembly comprising: aplurality of sensor electrodes; a processing unit; a dielectricsubstrate between the sensor electrodes and the processing unit; and aplurality of conductive paths associated with the plurality of sensorelectrodes, each of the plurality of conductive paths including at leasta portion extending through the dielectric substrate and providing anelectrical connection between one of the plurality of sensor electrodesand the processing unit, wherein the processing unit is configured todetect a signal at each of the plurality of sensor electrodes, andwherein the processing unit is embedded in the dielectric substrate. 8.The fingerprint sensor assembly of claim 7, further comprising anadditional dielectric substrate located directly on top of thedielectric substrate.
 9. The fingerprint sensor assembly of claim 8,wherein the dielectric substrate has a first surface and a secondsurface opposite the first surface, wherein the processing unit isembedded within the second surface, the sensor assembly furthercomprising a plurality of electrically conductive coupling pointslocated at the second surface of the dielectric substrate and forming aninterface for any device outside the dielectric substrate toelectrically connect to the processing unit.
 10. The fingerprint sensorassembly of claim 8, wherein the plurality of electrically conductivecoupling points includes a ball grid array (BGA) interface.
 11. Thefingerprint sensor assembly of claim 8, further comprising: a pluralityof electrically conductive components connected to the plurality ofconductive paths, wherein the plurality of conductive paths are locatedbetween the plurality of sensor electrodes and the plurality ofelectrically conductive components; and a shield layer embedded in thedielectric substrate and positioned between the sensor electrodes andthe electrically conductive components, wherein the shield layer iselectrically connected to ground potential and is adapted to protect theconductive components against inductive or capacitive coupling with thesensor electrodes.
 12. A fingerprint sensor assembly comprising: aplurality of sensor electrodes; a processing unit; a dielectricsubstrate between the sensor electrodes and the processing unit; and aplurality of conductive paths associated with the plurality of sensorelectrodes, each of the plurality of conductive paths including at leasta portion extending through the dielectric substrate and providing anelectrical connection between one of the plurality of sensor electrodesand the processing unit; and a resin layer in contact with thedielectric substrate, wherein the processing unit is configured todetect a signal at each of the sensor electrodes, and wherein theprocessing unit is embedded in the resin layer.
 13. The fingerprintsensor assembly of claim 12, wherein the resin layer is a cured resinlayer.
 14. The fingerprint sensor assembly of claim 12, furthercomprising: a plurality of electrically conductive components embeddedin the dielectric substrate and electrically connected to at least asubset of the plurality of conductive paths; a plurality of conductivecoupling points located at an interface between the dielectric substrateand the resin layer, wherein the plurality of conductive coupling pointsprovide electrical connection between the electrically conductivecomponents and the processing unit.
 15. The fingerprint sensor assemblyof claim 14, further comprising an additional dielectric substratelocated directly on top of the dielectric substrate.
 16. A fingerprintsensor assembly comprising: a plurality of sensor electrodes; aprocessing unit; a dielectric substrate between the sensor electrodesand the processing unit; and a first plurality of conductive pathsassociated with the plurality of sensor electrodes, each of theplurality of conductive paths including at least a portion extendingthrough the dielectric substrate and providing an electrical connectionbetween one of the plurality of sensor electrodes and the processingunit; a circuit board having a first surface on which the dielectricsubstrate is directly or indirectly mounted, and a second surface onwhich the processing unit is mounted, wherein the first surface isopposite to the second surface; a second plurality of conductive pathsextending through the circuit board and electrically connected to atleast a subset of the first plurality of conductive paths extendingthrough the dielectric substrate, the electrical connection beingthrough direct electrical contact, indirect electrical contact throughanother conductor, or capacitive coupling, wherein the processing unitand the sensor electrodes are electrically connected via at least thefirst plurality of conductive paths and the second plurality ofconductive paths, and wherein the processing unit is configured todetect a signal at each of the sensor electrodes.
 17. The fingerprintsensor assembly of claim 16, further comprising: conductive couplingpoints disposed at an interface between the circuit board and theprocessing unit, wherein each of the second plurality of conductivepaths terminates at one of the conductive coupling points, wherein thesecond plurality of conductive paths are electrically connected to theprocessing unit through the conductive coupling points.
 18. Thefingerprint sensor assembly of claim 17, wherein the circuit board isencapsulated in a polymer resin that is stiff when cured.